July 2025: Summer is Nonprofit “Prime Time”
I hope your summer has been relaxing and filled with your frozen treats of choice. Last weekend, baby Graham slept like a log through our town’s very loud fireworks. So proud!
Summertime tends to be the dead zone in nonprofit communications, but in the last few weeks, I’ve seen some great examples of organizations making ideal use of this time to prime supporters by sharing gratitude, impact, education, and advocacy opportunities.
Summer is what I call “Prime Time.” Spend the next couple of months celebrating your impact in the first half of the year, sharing any earned media and accolades, educating supporters more deeply on an issue that matters to them, and providing free, easy ways take action (such as a petition, content to share, a few questions to answer, etc).
Let's take a look at those great examples:
Using Email to Boost Credibility: No Means No Worldwide
I’ve received two emails I loved from this organization in the last few weeks.
Email 1 Subject Line: “You’re part of this, and it’s making headlines”
Here's my favorite chunk of the email:
Source: No Means No Worldwide
This email is a mega credibility booster, the subject line makes me feel like a member of the inner circle, and the CTA to share their media coverage is refreshing. Free and easy!
Email Subject Line 2: Look what we accomplished together!
My favorite chunk of the email:
Source: No Means No Worldwide
This email is a different kind of credibility booster that pairs nicely with the earned media-focused email that preceded it. Specific numbers = trustworthy, and the numbers in this email are really impressive. It’s also nice to see an annual report released this early, before the holidays (when no one has the bandwidth to read).
Kudos, Molly and team! These two emails put NMNW on my radar for a year-end gift.
Using Social (Organic + Paid) for Donor Appreciation: Humanity & Inclusion
I run digital ads year-round for Humanity & Inclusion U.S., and right now, we’re using their Meta Ads to celebrate impact and thank donors.
We’re currently targeting email subscribers, 2025 donors, and Facebook and Instagram followers with this video as the ad creative, linking to the News section of their site.
Here's a peek at one of our ad text variations:
Source: Humanity & Inclusion U.S.
Even when you don't have numbers to share, specific details = trustworthy.
These ads are targeting a small audience by advertising standards, and we’re using the Video Views objective (which is very cheap) so we can spend just a few hundred dollars to get this ad in front of a warm audience multiple times.
Note: Meta and other digital ad platforms are making it harder and harder to customize your audience targeting. There are hidden settings to turn on and off, but you can still target an email list and other custom audiences and turn OFF AI audience expansion. 👀
Shout out to the Humanity & Inclusion team for fully embracing straight-to-camera video and recording these video updates whenever I ask! :)
Using a Multi-Channel Campaign to Grow & Activate your Fanbase: Sandy Hook Promise
I have no personal connection to this organization, but their content this summer has really impressed me. They’re running an education + advocacy campaign to ban gun advertisers from targeting children. (Yes, this is currently LEGAL in the United States.)
I first saw the campaign via a series of Instagram ads, including this one. I signed the petition and provided my email and phone number to do so.
I got an automated email and this text message right away:
Source: Sandy Hook Promise
In the weeks to follow, I have received a handful of emails promoting their new UnTargeting Kids Report. The report is extremely thorough—and horrifying. It ends with multiple ways to advocate for change.
Here’s one of my favorite emails promoting the report:
Source: Sandy Hook Promise
This campaign is brilliant because in just a couple of months, SHP has:
Captured my contact information
Given me easy actions (sign a petition, read a report)
Positioned themselves as subject matter experts
Strengthened our relationship
Lit a fire in my belly about something that matters to me personally (protecting my son from harmful content)
I will definitely donate to them later in the year when they start asking.
Aside from a few donate buttons in email footers, none of these organizations have been asking me for money. This is precisely what makes me want to donate to them later.
Over the next couple of months, and again in October/November, I encourage you to use these priming tactics—gratitude, credibility, education, and advocacy—to celebrate your existing fans and reach new ones.
Please share your own “prime” content with me as you publish it! I’d love to see.
-Caroline
